Happily Ever After
by fiorifrost-legallover
Summary: USUK for a competition. Alfred learns his lesson the hard way. The VERY hard way.


"Alfred!" I heard Arthur call to me.

"Yes?" I called back.

"There's a strange number on your phone bill. Do you recognize it?" His voice got louder as he approached the room I was in. When he entered he handed me the paper and I looked over it. I recognized the nameless number immediately and felt my face heat up a bit.

It was Kiku's number, my favorite little Asian prostitute. It was against his job description to give his personal cell phone number to clients, but he said I was an exception. I liked to call him a lot when Arthur wasn't home and sex it up, but now I was paying for it.

"Oh, he's a, uh, new employee at work. He's always calling with questions." I waved my hand nonchalantly and handed the paper back to Arthur. He studied it then shook his head.

"No. These are all outgoing calls, see?" He pointed to the little out arrow on the paper.

I squinted a little to see it then clenched my jaw.

"Who is it, Alfred?" he repeated, looking a little more worried.  
I thought quickly then sighed "He's just a friend, Artie."

He nodded then clicked a button on his phone and held it up to his ear.

I had a frantic feeling in my chest and took a step towards him "What are you doing?"

"Calling your friend." he said simply "I hope you don't mind."

I clenched my fists and bit my lip, hoping he had dialed the number wrong or something. My stomach sank when I heard Kiku's sweet voice on the other end.

"Kon'nichiwa! You have reached Kute Kitten. For prices per night, press one. For availability, press two. For skills and specialties, press three."

Arthur pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at me with those sad green eyes. "A prostitute? . . .am I not enough?"

"No, Artie, I . . " I rubbed my forehead then said calmly "We were friends in college. I've never been a client of his, I just call to catch up, y'know?"

He sighed and nodded slowly "I guess that makes sense. . . " He stared at the phone for a little bit, squeezing it gently in his hand.

I reached out for the phone and closed it "Don't worry, alright?" I gave him a reassuring smile and his was weak in return. He nodded again then let me pull him into a hug.

"I love you."

* * *

"You have three new messages. First message: Alfred!~" Matthew's voice rang out over the message machine and my stomach twisted into a nervous knot. "I had so much fun last night! You should come over again tonight!"

Arthur turned from the machine to me and he looked more sad than angry. "Who's that?"

I thought quickly and said "He's, uh, a co-worker. We had to stay late last night at work and we were messing with people's stuff."

"Second message: Alfie! Why won't you answer? I wanna see you again!  
I've never met someone so talented with their mouth."

Arthur gave me a doubtful look and I quickly replied.  
"We had some uh cherries and were tying knots in the stems. He couldn't do it, but I tied about five of them. He's totally straight, there's nothing to worry about."

"Third message:" I held my breath. "Baby!~ come on! My bed is so cold without you!" I froze and turned slowly towards Arthur who was staring sadly at the message machine.

I bit my lip and he sighed "I know what happens next." he kept his eyes on the machine "You're going to leave me for him aren't you?"

I stayed silent for a long moment then shook my head "No. I'm not going anywhere." I slowly sat next to him and took his hand in mine. "It was an accident. I was really drunk and wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry baby."

He sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes "Really?" he looked up at me and I nodded.

"Yes. I would never hurt you on purpose. I'm sorry." I held his face in my hands and wiped his tears with my thumbs.  
"I love you . . " he mumbled quietly.

I nodded and pulled him into a hug, mumbling "I love you too."

* * *

"Do you live alone?" she asked and I shook my head.

"Nah, but he doesn't get home 'till late." I ran my tongue up her neck and felt her shiver beneath me. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I just couldn't help myself.

I slowly slid her shirt up over her head and heard the bedroom door open. "Alfred, I'm home. I got off early to spend time with you for my birthday." I could hear his hand patting the wall for the light switch.

The lights flicked on and he stood there staring. I just stared back while she tried to cover herself with the blankets. Arthur looked devastated and I tried to come up with an excuse.

"Arthur I-" The lights flicked off again before I could finish. He sniffed and wiped his eyes as he ran down the hall to the spare room.

"Arthur!" I called as I got out of bed and chased after him, still in my boxers. When I got to the door, I found it locked. I could hear him sobbing softly inside and I rubbed my forehead. "Arthur, please come out."

No answer. I heard the front door open and close, signaling that the girl had left. I sighed softly "She's gone, Arthur. Please come out."

After a few moments I heard the door unlock and I pushed it open slowly. "Artie?" I opened it further and peered in. "Can I come in?"

I heard a small pitiful "Yes" come from the comforter bundled up on the bench of the pop-out window and stepped in.

"Artie, I'm really sorry." I whispered as I approached him. "She was a birthday present for you." I lied "She got a little out of hand."

I sat down next to him and saw the city lights reflected in his puffy eyes. He didn't look at me and kept staring out the window. I reached out and pet his cheek gently. "Happy birthday."

He looked at me and I could see the streaks of tears lining his cheeks. "You twit. I don't want a girl for my birthday. You're more than enough."

I nodded and smiled at him. "C'mere." I pulled him into a tight hug and kissed his forehead.

"I love you." He whispered

I smiled again and kissed him very gently "I love you too." The guilt of lying was almost too much to bear.

* * *

"Where the bloody hell have you been!" He started yelling as soon as I got in the door.

"Woah, man. Just relax!" I was startled by his angry voice and tried to give him a good explanation. "I was just hanging out with the guys. No biggie." I didn't understand why he was so mad. Usually he would just get sad and I could think up a story that made everything better.

He glared at me and put his hands on his hips. "Oh really? And how many of your 'guys' wear lipstick?"

I gave him a confused look "Uh, none?"

That made him look even angrier. "Then what is that on your collar!"

I looked down at my shirt and pulled it away from my chest to see some of the dark red lipstick that the stripper at the club had been wearing. "Shit." I muttered.

Arthur started tapping his foot "Would you like to tell me where you and your guys went?"

I sighed and decided to just go with the truth this time "We went to a strip club and-"

"That's what I thought!" He grabbed his jacket and shoved past me to the front door. "This is the last straw, Alfred! Have fun sleeping alone!"

"Babe! Please, I'm sorr-" He slammed the door before I could finish. I cursed at myself and kicked the wall. I stomped around the house, throwing anything I could reach and cussing at the top of my lungs.

Once all the rage was gone, I sat there on the couch by myself. _"Where would he go?" _I thought. _"This is so weird without him here. I don't like it." _I rubbed my arms and looked around the room. Everything seemed so bland and lifeless without Arthur. I furrowed my brows at the strange feeling and tried to make sense of it. Then, right there in my livingroom, I had an epiphany.

_"How could I be so stupid!" _I thought, _"I have a man at home who loves me no matter what I do and every day I completely take him for granted!" _I sighed and wandered into the kitchen "Never again!" I vowed, grabbing a beer and holding it up in the air. "I will never cheat on my Arthur ever again!" I popped the cap off and drank to my promise.

I pulled my jacket on and went to the door. _"I've only had one beer."_I thought _"I'll just go look for him and bring him back home where he belongs."_

I walked out to my car and got in. I had a little trouble starting the engine and my vision was a little fuzzy, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

I pulled out of the driveway and set off down the street. I sped past the houses searching the streets for him, but there was nobody. Not a soul.

I started to panic a little. "Where is he!" I drove a little faster as my eyes darted from house to house, still searching. "Arthur!" I called out the window "Where are you!"

Then, when I turned the corner, this car came out of nowhere. I tried to hit the breaks but my foot just wouldn't move fast enough. I saw the headlights and heard the crunching metal and breaking glass.

My head slammed against the windshield, but I felt nothing. I sat there for a minute then looked around.

_"I hope I didn't hurt anyone."_I thought as I got out of my car and limped over to the other car. No one was in the drivers seat. I looked around through the darkness. I could hear sirens in the far distance and I saw a dark crumpled bundle on the ground ten feet away.

As I moved my feet towards the body it seemed to be eerily familiar and a wave of dread shot through my body. I knelt down next to the mass and turned it over.

My heart burst when I saw Arthur's scraped, motionless face. His eyes were closed and his silky blonde hair was matted with dirt and blood. I held him in my trembling arms and screamed. I screamed at myself for hurting my love and I screamed at the idiotic mistakes I had made.

The tears spilled down my cheeks and mixed with the blood from my own injury. I held Arthur close, kissing his bruised lips and rocking him back and forth. I whispered to him in my trembling voice, "I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm sorry. I love you more than anything in the world. Please wake up. Please, I love you."

He didn't wake up. Eventually someone came and pulled him from my grasp and i think they tried to reason with me but I just couldn't hear them.

I punched and bit and scratched to get back to my Arthur, and I was almost free, but then someone said something that locked me up.

"He's already gone, son. He was killed instantly. There's no use fighting for him now."

* * *

UUGH! I hate writing sad stories, ;A; but this hobo said he would give me a dollar if I did so . . . I did. I hope you guys don't vote it down for being too sad!


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